RIP <i>OPM</i>

For the past nine years, Official PlayStation Magazine has been a prime print source of information for thousands of Sony devotees across North America. With its bundled-in demo discs, the magazine also provided PlayStation and PlayStation 2 owners a chance to test drive the latest games.

Now, it appears that OPM is KIA. The Ziff-Davis Media Group, owners of OPM, announced today that the magazine's January 2007 issue would be its last. According to Scott McCarthy, president of the Ziff Davis Game Group, the launch of Sony's next-gen console has rendered pack-in demo discs--one of OPM's biggest draws--obsolete.

"The powerful online capabilities of the PlayStation 3, coupled with ever-increasing broadband penetration in the US, allow for much more efficient distribution of game demos, videos, and trailers," said McCarthy in a statement. "With this next generation of game consoles, the days of having to bundle a disc with a magazine to distribute games-related content are over."